Jimmy Kelly Aims For World Title Crack in ‘19

Manchester’s Jimmy Kelly is looking has a renewed sense of optimism as he looks to rebuild towards a World title opportunity in 2019. 

Kelly’s looking to bounce back from his battle down under with highly rated Dennis Hogan and push towards another opportunity at a World Super Welterweight Crown. 

The former amateur standout Kelly opened up about the Hogan fight and revealed changes in his approach for 2019. 

He said, “There was a lot of mental stress on me prior to the Dennis Hogan fight. Credit to Dennis for the win, but he got me on a bad day. I was mentally drained by the time I got in there for reasons out of my hands, and that affected me during the fight.

“These issues have been resolved, and now I can look forward to climbing the World Rankings and getting back into contention for a shot at the World title.” 

The Wythenshawe native is trained by esteemed trainer Lee Beard, and discussed training with Beard, who has worked with legendary fighters such as Ricky Hatton and Joan Guzman amongst others. 

The one time World title challenger said, “Lee is a great trainer and is proven to be one of the best in the World. 

“He keeps things fresh all the time and I’m always learning and improving. That’s the trick in boxing from a trainer’s point of view, to keep your fighters motivated and to continue to improve them. Lee achieves that and I’m very grateful for his efforts with me.”  

‘Kilrain’ has been ranked in the top 15 in the World for the vast majority of the last 3 years, and sees 2019 as his breakout year. Kelly opened up regarding his plans for 2019.

He said, “I want to work my way back to the top and land a World title fight. I’d be more than open to travelling to gain these opportunities. I’ve boxed in Australia and would love to box in America so hopefully opportunities present themselves as I would love to take those types of offers up.

“There are some great champions out there at 154, and I feel that I am getting better and I’m still young. The best is still to come from Jimmy Kelly and I believe 2019 will be my breakout year.”